effing flat 2 miles in. glad I didn't any of my teammates time.
sounds like negative race from there. rector won it. hansen won the
p12. vinnie ninth. I want to hear about martin/reaney fued. sounds
like it escalated further today.
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About Me
- runjoelrun
- Bought my first road bike in 2004 to commute over the Dumbarton, then started racing it for the 2005 season.
7 comments:
Sorry to hear about the flat! I thought you were lurking and waiting to unleash a monster attack. Just because it finished in a sprint doesn't mean it was negative racing! The wind wore on any efforts more than one would anticipate. You have to admit, that was a nice jump out of that turn to take it ;)
Interesting to hear the Reaney/Martin feud from each of their perspectives. I have talked with each of them about what went on to lead up to this. I am curious to see how it actually escalated. They are both amazing racers, and I am particularly surprised that they would let anything but their legs do the talking!
Jack
Wasn't the fact that ended in sprint that I thought it was negative. Was talking to Nick from SJBC after and he relayed tactics that made it sound negative. That some teams were trying to keep it together. Cause I agree, the race doesn't have to be negative to end a sprint.
That was a great move Jack, and it was right in front on where I was standing. What are the chances. Fonseca came around first and you jumped him and I could see you won by a couple bike lengths.
How similar to 2005 win was that?
Lamest..."masters" race... ever. (not to take anything away from the winner - nice job!)
But it was like a Cat 3 race with a bunch of guys old enough to know better - I don't think a single person got dropped.
I'll own up to my own part of worrying too much about Innes and indulging in some "just mark the fast guy" lameness. I'd say bring back the extra lap, but last year was plenty hard (and fun) so I guess it's on us to make it a race and not a group ride with a sprint at the end.
OK, enough whining. (Again, not trying to take anything away from those who did well - coming out of the front of 50+ fresh guys is something I certainly didn't manage.)
Peter
(Whole Athlete)
Too bad Joel, I know how you feel. Hope you didn't have to hitch a ride back to the start like I did at Winters. I waited 45 minutes before anyone stopped.
I almost drove down too, glad I didn't, sounds like HOP was more fun.
Congrats to Jack on a strong finish! I can only speak about the race from my perspective. About 11-12 miles into the race I covered a move by a Specialized rider and was joined by one other. We rotated a few times but the group would have none of it as it was barreling down on us. It slowed and I took a couple hard pedal strokes seated and rolled off the front was hoping somebody would join but nobody did. I kept it steady thinking for sure a group would come up but nothing. After the gap grew with little effort I figured what the heck and put it in a comfortable hard effort. After some 20+miles I finally saw a group of 2 trying to get across but the pack was close behind them. The 2 riders never made it but drug the pack up closer. I knew I was doomed unless somebody got across so I kept it steady and when I finally saw the red Specialized kit coming across(after I was solo for 20+miles) I waited. Once he got on I began to motor along but...no go...he would not work. He stated it was because one of my teammates made him angry. After the group caught us it slowed dramatically...I attacked again and this time another Specialized comes with and...again...he states he is not going to work. We now only have one lap left and as a team we decide to let somebody else animate the race. Nobody did but we were ok with that because we also have a competent sprinter. There definetly was enough horsepower in the field to make it much faster and animated...but go figure. I did not see any Specialized guys near the front in the finish so not sure why they did not want to work for a break. I am not knocking the Specialized team...they have a fantastic team of top riders. I am just curious why they were unwilling to work...just as I am curious that nobody else wanted to animate things.
Craig Nunes
Bishops Peak/Arts Cyclery
Nice ride, Craig! (btw, were you the same guy who missed the start last year and chased for a lap, finally catching the bunch?)
Think Innes (Specialized) ended up getting 3rd, but I think he may have been frustrated by some of the the wheelsucking that was going on at the front of the bunch while you were out there solo. Several of us did try to get breaks together, but there definitely was some weird dynamics with teams more interested in chasing stuff down than looking to get something started.
Tell you what, though - crossing that bridge squeezed against the centerline in a pack of 50 riders with an 18 wheeler coming the other direction sure made for an exciting finale.
-Peter
Peter-
Yes...unfortunately that was me last year. Bummer about the dynamics in the bunch. I thought this year the field was much deeper than years past and thus I was pretty certain a break would form. Yes, the finale was a bit too "exciting" with that 18 wheeler. I got squeezed in(like everyone else) pretty good and was surprised I could bring our sprinter up after our bad position. Good on Specialized for getting in the top 3(did not know that) and was pleased we got our sprinter into good enough position to get 2nd.
Craig Nunes
Bishops Peak/Arts Cyclery
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